Rival cities

[Alphabet Man]

The regular season games were intense ? with our Australian friends shouting profanities at the Nitros' bench and chanting "Kimberley's a girl's name" ? but the first round of the playoffs was even better. The two teams really slugged it out over six games before Kimberley prevailed.

I wonder how many of those Aussies are from the State of Victoria

ahh, they'd be either South Australians or New South Walers or two-headed Tasmanians

[Alphabet Man]

as far as Rivarlies go, i don't think you can go past the Victorian v South Australia State of Origin Aussie Rules matches until it got scrapped in '99

and the Rugby League Queensland v New South Wales State-of-origin matches

[Nick 1733]

...and for the Avs, well, nobody.

Yeah... it's not like they have a big rivalry like the Leafs-Canadiens, Oilers-Flames, or more recently, Red Wings-Aval-- oh wait.

I'm talking geographical region here, not bitter rivalries. If that's the case then the Avs have a few, the Canucks, Red Wings & Stars.

[tp49]

I'm reminded of my favorite rivalry from back home in NY.

NHL: Islanders/Ranjerks err Rangers

[pcgd]

Being in St. Louis our biggest rival is Chicago with the Blackhawks/Blues and Cubs Cardinals....although I dont know if the Cubs/Cards is much of a rivaly because a rivalry requires both teams to be competitive. The rivalry between the Cardinals and KC Royals is more light hearted and fun than with the cubs. I went to one of the games at Kauffman this year and all the royals fans around me were nice guys and we all just gave each other crap but there was no bloodshed like when the cubs are in town.

Bloodshed? Cards/Cubs? I've only had one completely rude thing said to me by a cubs fan, and he was drunk. (that thing was a remark about who was pitching the next day...he asked if it was darryl kile) Other than that, its always been friendly ribbing. We hate each other, but we respect each other. Now, I've heard of some bad things happening at a Blues/Blackhawks game.

IMO, Rivalries don't have to be completely competative. The Cardinals have won more games against the cubs (barely, its under 100), and have more championships. But it doesn't diminish the rivalry. The Yankees/Red Sox are the same way. But nobody is going to claim that that rivalry isn't alive and well. Don't forget, there was a time both the Cardinals (70s, early 90s) and the Yankees (late 60's, early 90s) sucked. I'm sure during those times, the rivalries were just as strong.

[HatCityEnforcer]

There's a few around here...

UConn/Duke (men's & women's hoops)...it started with Christian fluffing Laettner's shot in OT of the 90 East Regional Finals and kinda ramped up a bit the next season when Rod Sellers decided to bounce Laettner's head on the Pontiac Silverdome court a few times....revenge was served in 99 when the Huskies beat the Dookies in St. Pete for that first title...it's also ramped up on the women's side as well, especially when Duke's program started to catch up a bit.

UConn/Tennessee (women's hoops)...the two most dominant women's programs...the coaches don't really like each other and it's fed down to the players as well...seems as of late Tennessee can beat UConn during the season, but the Lady Vols invent new ways to choke when it matters most (namely at the Final Four) .

UConn/BC...well, this one's dead seeing that the Gilded Pigeons are about to become everyone's b!tch in the ACC next season and the big 3 coaches at UConn (namely Edsall, Calhoun, and Auriemma) have told BC, "fluff off, we're done playing you." Still, it was kinda fun for the most part....

In Conference Rivals for UConn...

Rutgers

'Nova

Syracuse

Pitt

Jury's still out on the 'Natti, but I expect THAT to pick up next season when they join the Big East.

Pros wise...these are just personal ones..seeing for the most part, outside of the NBA, I'm a NY fan (NBA wise, I'm pure Pistons)

NFL: Jets/Fish (biggest rivals for the Jets...we Jets fans have harsh memories of things like an intentionally flooded Orange Bowl before the 82 AFC Title Game and Dan "All Those Records & NO RINGS" Marino's fake spike play), Jets/Pats (kinda ramped down a bit after the whole Tuna Affair...even with Bellichek quitting on the Jets for the Pats job didn't do much to keep it going, IMO).

NBA: Pistons/Pacers (Four Words: Malice In The Palace). About 15 years ago, I would have had the Bulls and Lakers on here as well....

NHL: Rangers/Nassau County Fishsticks (both teams could suck and it'd be the biggest games of the year for the fans...last NHL season was sweet enough for me..the Rangers stunk, yet swept the Fishsticks in the season series...made the season for me ), Rangers/Devs (not as much as in the 90s...was more fun when both teams were doing better...besides, it's the Devils...outside of a few folks in North Jersey, nobody really cares about them...the sad thing is, they're the best team in the area and the two other teams (one mediocre, the other pathetic) get more press than they do...they shoulda stayed in Denver, although I think the Denver fans got the better of it when it was all said and done), Rangers/Flyers (this one's lost a lot of juice over the years, IMO...mostly b/c the Rangers have been in the toilet and the Flyers aren't as hateable as they were in the past)

MLB: Mets/Braves (Built up for a while and hit it's cresendo when you had John Rocker mouthing off to SI and Larry Wayne Jones (sorry, I ain't calling a grown man "Chipper") making comments about how us Mets fans should go get out our Yanks gear...hasn't been the same since Rocker was traded.), Mets/Cardinals (this one was THE RIVALRY for us Mets fans about 20 years ago...the Mets hated the Cards, and the Cards hated the Mets...some real fun games...this one died when the Birds went to the Central in '94)

AHL: Hartford/Springfield, Hartford/Providence, Hartford/Worcester (RIP), Hartford/Manchester....note, Hartford/Bridgeport didn't make this list...mostly b/c even though all the B-port fans are obsessed with beating Hartford, most Hartford fans I know could give two plops less about the Sound Tigers.

UHL: Danbury/Adirondack....this one's a NASTY little rivalry to say the least...this went to a whole new level when you had a Danbury player go after the Adirondack coach ON THE BENCH. It was cemented when the Trashers sent the 'Bite packing in 6 in the first round (ensuring that Adirondack's tradition of "ONE & DONE?" in the Colonial Cup Playoffs continued on for another year ). Danbury/Kalamazoo is right there as well...and mostly due to the fact that some K-zoo player decided to snap the leg of one of the better players on Danbury's roster last season...also, there were some pretty idiotic actions by some K-zoo fans that just made this one out of control...

[yh]

I think the City of St. Louis has a general rivalry with the City of Chicago, mainly because of the proximity of the two cities to each other.

The rivalry with Chicago actually predates modern pro sports. During the days when railroads were first getting started, the two cities frequently competed against each other for lines and routes. Each touted their access to major waterways as reasons that terminals should be established for commerce with the expanding western territories. Keep in mind this was at a time when Chicago and St. Louis were the 2nd and 4th largest cities in the U.S., respectively. In the end, most of the railroads chose Chicago, mainly because they didn't want to have to build bridges over the Mississippi. This cemented Chicago as the "capital city" of the Midwest. St. Louis hung on until the early 20th century as a top 5 city and it was during this time that the Cards-Cubs rivalry sprung up. In the early days, not unlike the civic rivalry, Chicago had the upper hand but by the late 20's the Cardinals wrested it away and have not yielded it since.

Chicago remains St. Louis's biggest baseball rival. In hockey, the Blues-Blackhawks rivalry was strong from the late 60's until the early 90's, but once the wheels essentially fell of the Blackhawks in the mid 90's the rivalry has really been more between St. Louis and Detroit.

In football, the Rams really don't have what I'd consider a true rival anymore. The Rams-Niner's rivalry survived the move for a brief while (first because the team was trying so hard to break that 18 game losing streak and then second because the teams were briefly on par with each other) but over the last couple of years that rivalry has pretty much fizzled. With the advent of the new NFC West and the placement of Arizona in that division, it seems like the Cardinals will probably take over as the Rams' new rival, especially with the storylines around the Cards' history in St. Louis as well as their signing Kurt Warner.

[CC97]

the rivalry has really been more between St. Louis and Detroit.

Do Red Wings fans know this?

[TFoA]

Well, football-wise, the biggest game of the year for the Falcons is when we play New Orleans. Back when we both sucked royally, it was still the biggest game of the year.

Basketball: Nobody really cares here.

Baseball: People still get jacked up when the Mets come to town.

[pcgd]

I think the City of St. Louis has a general rivalry with the City of Chicago, mainly because of the proximity of the two cities to each other.

The rivalry with Chicago actually predates modern pro sports. During the days when railroads were first getting started, the two cities frequently competed against each other for lines and routes. Each touted their access to major waterways as reasons that terminals should be established for commerce with the expanding western territories. Keep in mind this was at a time when Chicago and St. Louis were the 2nd and 4th largest cities in the U.S., respectively. In the end, most of the railroads chose Chicago, mainly because they didn't want to have to build bridges over the Mississippi. This cemented Chicago as the "capital city" of the Midwest. St. Louis hung on until the early 20th century as a top 5 city and it was during this time that the Cards-Cubs rivalry sprung up. In the early days, not unlike the civic rivalry, Chicago had the upper hand but by the late 20's the Cardinals wrested it away and have not yielded it since.

Chicago remains St. Louis's biggest baseball rival. In hockey, the Blues-Blackhawks rivalry was strong from the late 60's until the early 90's, but once the wheels essentially fell of the Blackhawks in the mid 90's the rivalry has really been more between St. Louis and Detroit.

In football, the Rams really don't have what I'd consider a true rival anymore. The Rams-Niner's rivalry survived the move for a brief while (first because the team was trying so hard to break that 18 game losing streak and then second because the teams were briefly on par with each other) but over the last couple of years that rivalry has pretty much fizzled. With the advent of the new NFC West and the placement of Arizona in that division, it seems like the Cardinals will probably take over as the Rams' new rival, especially with the storylines around the Cards' history in St. Louis as well as their signing Kurt Warner.

I knew the actual cities were rivals for whatever reason, but I never really knew why.

Now I know...and Knowledge is power!

[yh]

the rivalry has really been more between St. Louis and Detroit. 

Do Red Wings fans know this?

Only if they look at the Central Division standings . . .

[MadmanLA]

I want to add the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles to the mix. It's more so about S.F. hating L.A. more, because Los Angeles could generally care less about about the folks up north. Of course, you have Dodgers-Giants, the old Rams-49ers matchups, to an lesser extent--Atheltics-Angels, and the Raiders moving back and forth between Oakland and L.A. Basketball-wise, the Lakers-Warriors matchups hasn't been as one-sided as it may seemed. Lately, even the during the Kobe-Shaq era, the Lakers have had trouble beat the Warriors in Oakland over that time. As for Clippers-Warriors, the Clip Show have pretty much owned State over the last 6-7 years, and I think as a Clipper fan, the Warriors are as close to an actual rival that we have. I don't follow hockey too much, but I think among hockey fans, whenever the Sharks play the Kings or Ducks, there's some animosty there.

[Aurelius13]

Here in Atlanta, I would say New York is the big rival city. Despite anything you may hear about "Southern hospitality," many (not all) native Atlantans despise New York and its people. It's really something that was bred outside of sports, but New York's sports teams have been pulled into it (Note: I don't share the same hatred. I respect New Yorkers also!). There is a lot of hatred aimed towards the Yankees and Knicks in particular.

If we were to take it by sport, I would say it differs quite a bit. The Thrashers' main rival seems to be Carolina, and as far as I know, that has stayed the same since 1999. Hawks fans seem to hate the Knicks in particular.

For the Falcons and Braves, however, the main rival city changes. The Braves started with a rival in Los Angeles, then it became New York, Philadelphia and currently it is Miami. I would say now the Falcons' main rival city is Philadelphia, as many Eagles fans had less than kind words to say about Atlanta prior to the NFC championship. The main team rivals would be the Saints and Buccaneers, but I haven't heard of any ill will towards the actual cities of New Orleans or Tampa from Atlantans.

College sports would be a bit trickier. There are alums from Georgia Tech, Georgia, Auburn, Alabama, Clemson, South Carolina and Tennessee living here, so feelings about a rival college city are often mixed.

[VitaminD]

I would say now the Falcons' main rival city is Philadelphia, as many Eagles fans had less than kind words to say about Atlanta prior to the NFC championship.

College sports would be a bit trickier. There are alums from Georgia Tech, Georgia, Auburn, Alabama, Clemson, South Carolina and Tennessee living here, so feelings about a rival college city are often mixed.

Part 1: We Philadelphians don't have anything nice to say about you, or anybody. We like it that way.

Part 2: Have you answered the question everyone wants answered: how can you fly UGA and Ga. Tech flags in your sig? That's illogical at best, impossible at worst!

[The Green Meanie]

Houston's rival is usually either Dallas or San Antoino, they've always been jealous of us.

[amare32]

The biggest rivals for Phoenix teams are almost always from California.

The Diamondbacks have battled most often with the Dodgers and the Giants, so I'd say they're our biggest rivals. Tho in fairness, I'm sure they pay alot more attention to one another than to us.

Similarly, the Suns have always had a beef w/ the Lakers. "Beat LA" is a favorite chant for Phoenix fans. We've also had rotating rivalries w/ whichever teams were strong in the west -- the Rockets, Sonics and Blazers in the 90s, the Spurs in the 00's.

The Cardinals' are an unrivaled horror show.

...but the BIGGEST rivalry is intra-state. Phoenix and Tucson have always had a good deal of enmity -- big city versus smaller cousin. Phoenix has a bigger population, more money and more power. Tucson is much closer to nature, has cooler weather (especially in the summer) and a cooler vibe.

That rivalry gets played out in college sports, w/ ASU (in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe) and UA (in Tucson). Now, I love both cities. I see tremendous opportunity in Phoenix, a city that's wholly remaking its downtown. And I fell in love w/ Tucson during my college days.

But at least when it comes to the cities' sports rivalries, I gotta declare...

BEAR DOWN, ARIZONA!